Starlight, Starbright Simpatica 1.0
by Denigoddess2001
Summary: A goddess knows a Gargoyle's heart doesn't break; it shatters. Unspoken dreams and divine providence urge Elisa & Goliath to look upon the stars. They dare to cast their energies into wish for it may come true!


Starlight, Star Bright Simpatica  
Denigoddess2001@aol.com  
09/02/01  
Desperation  
Truly, Madly, Deeply  
You Had Me From Hello  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Gargoyles do not belong to me. They belong to Disney. The Lyrics of Silent Lucidity do not belong to me. They belong to Chris DeGarmo. I love this song so much that inspired me to write a sequel to "Desperation." This is set shortly after Hunter's Moon Part Three (animated) and right after "You Had Me From Hello." Many thanks to Stonelight aka Demelza Watt for her input and inspiration.  
  
Silent Lucidity   
Queensrÿche ~ Music and Lyrics by Chris DeGarmo  
Hush now, don't you cry   
Wipe away the teardrop from your eye   
You're lying safe in bed   
It was all a bad dream   
Spinning in your head   
Your mind tricked you to feel the pain   
Of someone close to you leaving the game of life   
So here it is, another chance   
Wide awake you face the day   
Your dream is over... or has it just begun?   
There's a place I like to hide   
A doorway that I run through in the night   
Relax child, you were there   
But only didn't realize it and you were scared   
It's a place where you will learn   
To face your fears, retrace the years   
And ride the whims of your mind   
Commanding in another world   
Suddenly you hear and see   
This magic new dimension   
I- will be watching over you   
I- am gonna help you see it through   
I- will protect you in the night   
I- am smiling next to you, in Silent Lucidity  
[Visualize your dream]   
[Record it in the present tense]   
[Put it into a permanent form]   
[If you persist in your efforts]   
[You can achieve dream control]   
[Dream control]   
[How's that then, better?]   
[Hug me]  
If you open your mind for me   
You won't rely on open eyes to see   
The walls you built within   
Come tumbling down, and a new world will begin   
Living twice at once you learn   
You're safe from the pain in the dream domain   
A soul set free to fly   
A round trip journey in your head   
Master of illusion, can you realize   
Your dream's alive, you can be the guide but...   
I- will be watching over you   
I- am gonna help to see it through   
I- will protect you in the night   
I- am smiling next to you....   
  
Skylaris watched as Goliath wept alone in the night. Gargoyle rarely shed tears, but this lavender leviathan was an extraordinarily responsive soul. She found it hard to turn away from the bellowing howls of anguish being torn from the clan leader's heart. The goddess watched his bereaved image weeping for his lost love, Elisa Maza. The Dragon's heart shattered as each tear fell from onyx eyes onto bronze skin.  
  
"You more so than most, brave clan leader, know the loss of love." She longed to reach out to the young protector and give him comfort. Yet such was not the way to cure the pain that ailed him. "You have lost your beloved Gargoyle mate leaving you alone in this world. You have longed to complete the bond with one who touches your heart. So much has been the desperation that you have reached beyond your kin into the world of humans."  
  
The emerald head of the great Dragon goddess leaned closer to the scrying pool in the midst of the marble floor of the lair. A shimmer of light and a movement of wave in air like a mirage surrounded the serpentine form of the Gargoyle deity. Skylaris now appeared in the form of the Nubian beauty she so favored. With haired braided with emerald and amethyst beads and eyes of tanzanite, she was every inch a true goddess.  
  
She brought her legs under her and sat down by the pool. She waved her hand gracefully over the silvery, still waters of the scrying pool. As Goliath roared his release and his anguish, Elisa Maza simultaneously stirred in her sleep. Two souls knowing a love eons old. Neither soul was complete. Both souls searched in the eyes of all they met for completion. Skylaris knew that her time of passive observation was long past.  
  
She saw Elisa Maza sleeping in her bed alone. Skylaris stillfully watched the young detective stirring fretfully in her troubled slumber. Skylaris waved her tapered hand over the pool to invade the realm of Elisa's deepest, darkest dreams. She dared cross the boundary of will and agency to dwell in the young woman's innermost thoughts. "Now, child, let us see what you need."  
  
Elisa stood alone in the dream realm staring into an antique cheval. The tall Nubian amazon walked behind her. The young detective startled at seeing the strange figure standing regally behind her. "Who are you?"  
  
"I am Skylaris."  
  
"I've heard the name." Elisa's eyes of midnight locked in a stare-down with tanzanite orbs. A picture of Wren Summers entered Elisa's unhidden thoughts. " A friend mentioned it recently."  
  
"Then you know who I am." Skylaris laid her hands on her shoulders.   
  
"The Matron goddess of the Gargoyles." Elisa felt like a frightened rabbit in the presence of a hungry wolf.  
  
"Amongst other things." The Nubian goddess raised delicately arched brows and met Elisa's gaze in the mirror. "And a few humans."  
  
"Really? I never knew that."  
  
"You have been touched by Puck's magick and have known what it is to feel the wind beneath your wings. You have had a Gargoyle's heart."  
  
"For all of one night." Regret laced Elisa's response.   
  
"And when you were returned to your true form it left you with an inexplicable emptiness."  
  
"Yeah, it did."  
  
"When Goliath was human, your heart soared." She gave Elisa a deliberate smile. "He stole your breath with his arresting charisma and dashing appearance."  
  
"Hey, it's all true." Elisa sighed sadly and turned from the mirror. "There's no point in rehashing the past. It's not going to change. I'm human and he's a gargoyle. We both know it. It just wasn't meant to be."  
  
"Says who, child?"  
  
"Says Fate." Elisa stuck her hands in her pockets. Her shoulders gave a helpless shrug. "Unless I'm willing to take a stone nap by day or Goliath loses his wings, it isn't going to happen."  
  
"Bah! I've never been a believer in Fate. I ascribe to Destiny. Not all is written in the stars, Elisa. Most is merely declared in the stars."  
  
"Well, I know that things are just the way they are and I can't change them." Elisa's distant gaze found a point in the darkness and focused upon it. Her voice grew soft and quiet. "No matter how much I want to."  
  
"Goliath is dying slowly each night for want of you. Your mother is a descendant from a long line of great Ethiopian queens. With noble lines comes greatness of heart. Let's say that you fall under my care as any child of mine does. I have ....how shall I put this? I have walked amongst your kind once or twice. I've known human love and it has begotten me an understanding and appreciation for your species. I also know that you have sacrificed much for the sake of my children. All that has not escaped my notice, Elisa."  
  
"What are you saying, Skylaris?" Elisa turned to face the great lady dressed in vibrant green tradition African print.  
  
"Look to the stars, Elisa. Don't consider yourself and Goliath star-crossed quite yet." Skylaris nodded in the direction of the mirror. "Tell me, Elisa. Look at the reflection, do you like what you see?"  
  
Elisa returned her attention to the antique cheval before her in the darkness. She expected to see herself in the reflection. "Oh my God."  
  
The reflection that met her eyes wasn't Elisa Maza. Dark eyes and long sable tresses belonged to the form in the mirror. A bronze complexion complimented the dark features of the person before her. Instead of firm, full breasts, the form possessed broad shoulders and a powerful chest. Tall as Elisa was, the form in front of her towered head and shoulders above her: she surmised six foot four or five. She watched the powerful form stare through rather than at her. The sculpted physique finally spoke. "My Elisa...."  
  
The low baritone resonated through her entire being. Her heart hammered in her chest as she heard the seductive bass rumbling in his voice. She reached out quickly to touch the mirror. Her fingers sank through it as if the glass were cool, still water and she felt warm flesh beneath her fingers. For a moment, the veil between realms allowed this handsome human to see the woman on the dark side of the glass. His eyes went wide with astonishment; his jaw fell agape with joyful bewilderment. "Elisa....."  
  
"Goliath?" She dared to whisper. "Is it really you?"  
  
The man's face saddened. His dark eyes closed as if to block pain or to stop falling tears. He turned away as the veil fell between them. The glassed darkened to black. Elisa rushed forward and grabbed the metal frame of the aged antique. A tight fist banged against the cold glass and shivered with the hint of breaking.  
"Skylaris, you have a really cruel sense of humor."  
  
"No, I am offering you a glimpse of what you want."  
  
"Goliath isn't meant to be a human."  
  
"Were you meant to be a Gargoyle?" She countered.  
  
"No. It just happened."  
  
"Don't resign yourself to fate, Elisa. It limits your options."  
  
"What are you saying?"  
  
"You could have your wish." Skylaris turned the young woman to face her. "I can give you what you long for: you need only ask."  
  
Elisa's eyes fell to the floor. [Goliath as a human. We could be together. But, it wouldn't be right. He's a Gargoyle. He wouldn't have his clan. The city needs him. All the lives he's touched. If there were no Goliath, so many would suffer. It's his choice.]  
  
"Mere details, Elisa." The Nubian goddess gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "This is what I offer you: thirty days where the Love of your life is Human. At the end of thirty days, you may choose: stay in the realm where you have known him as a human lover or return to the realm you know with him as a Gargoyle."  
  
"What's the catch?" Elisa eyed the goddess warily. "You aren't a Child of Oberon, are you?"  
  
"All-Father love you, Daughter of Gaia." Her laughter rang like pristine chimes. "Me? A child of Oberon? I should say not. Oberon is MY nephew. His mother, Queen Mab is my sister. Don't let his hoity-toity song-and-dance muddle your sound mind. I was watching your ancestors learning to walk upright while he still wore diapers."  
  
The vision of Oberon in diapers brought a ghost of a smirk to Elisa's lips. "You're what?"  
  
"I am Kiari." Skylaris saw the look of Elisa's confusion. "I am the goddess of many realms. My children are dispersed through many dimensions. That is another tale, Elisa. Suffice it to say, that I am older than Oberon and twice as crafty. The difference between he and I is that I know wisdom and he spouts arrogance. Don't worry, Child. I've no desire to play you for my own whims. That is not my way."  
  
"So, there's no catch to your offer?"  
  
"There is no catch, but there are costs." Skylaris said gravely. She watched Elisa's brow narrow in suspicion. "Never before have I witnessed such a cynical heart. I thought Brooklyn was bad."  
  
"And what are those costs?" Elisa pressed.  
  
"The world will be drastically different than you know it. You will be lost unless you keep your wits about you. What you know as familiar will be frightfully bizarre in some aspects. Goliath will not know the ways of the world as you do, Child."  
  
Elisa nodded in understand of the goddess' words. "What about my job here?"  
  
"No one will know of your absence save you." Skylaris' warmth was infectious. Elisa's barely contained the excitement growing within her.  
  
"What about Goliath?"  
  
"Watch in the glass, Elisa and know his heart that remains buried beneath a mountain of stoicism." The goddess pointed to the mirror. It seemed as though she were watching a motion picture play before her eyes. The reflection cast by the mirror showed Goliath in her apartment. He stood over her in the shadows watching her like an archangel of twilight. She lie on the sofa sound asleep with her holster and gun still on beneath her jacket. Elisa saw the half-finished can of soda and the open magazine lying on the coffee table.  
  
She looked questioningly at Skylaris.  
  
"It happens now as we speak, Daughter of Gaia." Skylaris, dragon goddess of Gargoyles, nodded in the direction of the reflection. "A Gargoyle's love knows not pride nor arrogance. Goliath's love for you is continuing as granite and affluent in tenderness. His heart is absent of cupidity. His way is to remain reticent and modest. His love is dauntless and selfless. You bring him elation and joy. His fortitude champions against Serendipity's injustice. His heart seeks to find union with it's truest, best destiny. You are his blessing to know. His love abides everything in serenity, possesses unquestioning devotion, embraces an aspiration of joy, and endures longer than the mountain stone. A Gargoyle's heart love's you fiercely and well, Elisa Maza. Watch and learn."  
  
In the reflection, Goliath cloaked his wings about him and made his way to her. A large lavender talon brushed away a stray tendril. Growing concern prompted the leader to lovingly act as servant as he carefully untied the laces of her boots. He removed each boot slowly and carefully as not to rouse her from slumber. Goliath set them neatly underneath her coffee table.  
  
She murmured some inaudible reply and shifted slightly in her sleep. The lavender leviathan took the comforter from the back of her sofa and draped it over Elisa. She instinctively drew her knees to her chest and rolled on to her side. Goliath drew back as if burnt when she mumbled his name in her sleep. He drew back in astonishment as his name was whispered on her lips. It filled the hollow ache in his heart just a little to know that he was a part of her dreams.  
  
He paused to watch her next reaction. He cast a gaze toward the fuzzy picture of late night television. He took the remote in hand and pushed a button that made the screen go black. He turned to leave when a tangy aroma caught his attention. It consisted of cinnamon and musk. He leaned closer to Elisa and inhaled deeply of her scent.  
  
His eyes glared with unholy white fire as he recognized the fragrance. It was a combination of menses, musk, pheromones, and her favorite perfume that he had given her at Christmas. He knew that scent well and did his best to ignore it one week out of every month. Goliath knew that Elisa's scent intimated her time of fertility. The pheromones had been faint at the beginning of Avalon's quest. By the end of the expedition, the scent had been almost unbearable for Goliath. The scent mingled with the cinnamon and wafted in an elixir that befuddled his senses. The fragrance nearly drove him into an insatiable mating frenzy that was purely primal, passionate and Gargoyle.  
  
[By the Dragon, Elisa! You incite me beyond good sense.] He inwardly groaned. He felt the leather of his loincloth tighten and become considerably uncomfortable. He fought the maddening urge to lock her away for six nights of each month with him and mate her fiercely and well. Each night that her mating scent wafted about him, Goliath combated the need of mounting Elisa by indulging in a human custom.  
  
[I will be one of honor. I will leave.] He turned to go but cast one last longing glance at the sleeping splendor contentedly somnolent on the divan. He vowed to wait until she approached him. He knew that she trembled when he touched her. She quivered when he brushed against her. Her heartbeat galloped when he held her to him. [A good Gargoyle waits.]  
  
Goliath made his way to the window and stepped on to the roof. He forced himself into the air and made his way to the clock tower. He refused to give into the persistent need to sheathe him within Elisa Maza. Goliath forced away any thought that didn't include her willingness.  
  
"I never knew he felt like that." Elisa whispered in awe. She wrapped her arms around her as she heard his thoughts aloud as if they belonged to her. She held her hand outwards to ward away the bittersweet visions appearing in the glass. She turned her head from the mirror and shut her eyes. "Stop it! It's not right to bear his soul like this without his knowledge or consent."  
  
"Trust me, Elisa. He wants to tell you, but you won't let him." Skylaris said tersely. "Now, when you awake, I want you to remember this dream. Think about it. Tomorrow night, go to Goliath. Look at the stars. You'll see me in the skies above your Big Apple. Just remember that because fruit hangs high from the tree doesn't make it forbidden: only harder to reach. Just how badly do you want it?"  
  
Elisa bolted upright. She felt droplets of perspiration tracing a path down the side of her brow. She looked underneath the coffee table and found her boots neatly placed next to each other. She found the remote sitting on the table rather than in her hand. She rose and walked to the unlatched window. She saw the sun peaking just above the Manhattan skyline. Elisa knew that it was going to be a long, stressful day.  
  
************  
  
The sun didn't set quickly enough for the Young Detective. She hurriedly made her way to the clock tower as speedily as her feet allowed her. Each step seemed like ten as she sprinted into the police station.   
  
"Maza, what are you doing here?" Chavez eyed her with surprise. "I know you're dedicated to your job, but I told you to take two nights off."  
  
"I know, Captain." Elisa looked hastily at her watch. She hated lying to her superior. "I just dropped by to ...pick up my wallet. I left here a couple of nights ago."  
  
"Go home and relax." Captain Chavez turned her attention to another officer in need of authorization for an interrogation.  
  
Elisa hastily made her way to the broom closet. Her boots flew as if wearing the talaria of Hermes. (LOOK IT UP, FOLKS IN THE DICTIONARY). She ran through the interior of the tower. She shoved open the door of the clock tower and came to the roof to see seven proud figurines standing guard over a harsh and unforgiving city.  
  
"Show time, Guys." She murmured and stepped back a good distance. More than once, chinks had been taken from her leather by sharp shards of flying granite as the Gargoyles came to life. She never grew tired of watching their marvelous transformation of stone becoming flesh. Elisa felt the air become electrified with anticipation as she watched the fissures deepen with Goliath's stone skin.  
  
His eyes came alive with a fierce bright fire she knew well. The stone skin exploded around him as his roar burst from his chest. The resounding sound thundered and echoed off the castle walls. His wings unfurled in their expansive glory. He turned to face the courtyard of the castle and saw Elisa standing there with hands in pockets and feet shuffling. He leapt eagerly from the parapet and cloaked his wings about him a cloak of gabardine elegance.  
  
"Elisa, you are a welcome sight to greet me." His voice rumbled low. He strode forward so that he stood only a few inches from her. "I dreamt of you, My Love."  
  
"Hi yourself, Big Guy." Her voice sounded casual but her eyes betrayed her. He knew she kept her heart well hidden from the others. "I missed you."  
  
"And I, you." He drew her protectively into his arms. His agile tail snaked affectionately around her waist. His wings draped about her blocking out the world. "Much more than my heart should be allowed."  
  
"Good evenin', Lass." A thick Scottish lilt found her ears. She saw Hudson wink at her. "It's good seein' ye. I thought yer night off 'twas last night."  
  
"No, Chavez called me earlier today and gave me another day because of that recent sting on Nightstone Enterprises."   
  
"Goliath, don't be squeezin' the lass too hard." Hudson gave him a sly wink. "She needs to be able to breathe."  
  
"I will be careful, old friend." The solemn vow contained more than a hint of mirth from the clan leader.  
  
"Hi, Elisa! Bye Elisa!" Brooklyn led Angela by the hand past them.  
  
"Where are you two going in such a hurry?" Goliath turned his head to his daughter and her mate.  
  
"Westfest!" Broadway grinned. "A twenty-four hour marathon of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and other Old West Cowboy movies is showing at Central Park. We have to hurry or we'll be late."  
  
"I see." Goliath chuckled. "Angela, Brooklin, have a good evening."  
  
"We will, Father." Angela called back as the two Gargoyles unfurled their wings and caught the updrafts of the New York sky.  
  
Lex and Brooklyn looked at Human and Gargoyle. The crimson warrior laid a caring hand on his lover's shoulder. "Lex, what do ya say we do a patrol and then join Angela and Brooklyn at Westfest?"  
  
"Cool." The diminutive Gargoyle answered eagerly. "Hey, we'd better check out that jewelry store on the upper West side. A couple of robberies took place in that neighborhood this week.  
  
The two strapping warriors looked tentatively at their clan leader. "Go on patrol and enjoy your evening."  
  
"You don't have to tell me twice." Brooklyn turned to Lexington and offered him an extended hand. "Hungry?"  
  
"Famished."  
  
"I worry about you." Brooklyn chided his mate as he unfurled his wings. He pulled the green Gargoyle beside him. "You don't eat enough."  
  
"I eat like a horse..." Lexington's voice faded as they two lovebirds began their evening patrol.  
  
"They sound like an old married couple." Elisa covered her mouth to stifle the smirk threatening to burst loose.  
  
"They are good for one another. Love takes strange forms and comes to us in many ways." He lowered his brow to hers and inhaled deeply of her scent. She smelled of sweet jasmine, cinnamon, and that feminine musk that drove Goliath to the brink of madness a week each a month. His eyes smoldered with brilliant desire. He growled and his tail lashed furiously with unspoken agitation.   
  
"Are we alone?" She whispered against the lavender shell of Goliath's elegantly pointed ear.  
  
"Yes." That one word gave him the freedom to unleash the Gargoyle lurking beneath the guise of clan leader. "Jalapena, Elisa. Now, I want to properly greet you."  
  
He brought his lips to hers in an affirmation of his abiding devotion. Goliath cautiously sought her taste with his pointed smooth tongue. Elisa felt her hunger rise to critical levels as he seduced her with his hesitant kiss. She readily deepened their kiss. He rumbled with pure Gargoyle gratification as Elisa silently pleaded for more. She pressed herself tightly against every sculpted contour of his powerful form.  
  
Goliath dared to take the role of clan leader and alpha male. He remembered a display of affection that he had seen not so long ago in a movie. He let his taloned hands slowly trail a path of heated caresses and tender touches from Elisa's shoulders to the small of her back. His hands found her tight derriere beneath blue denim. He gently cuddled each globe in his grasp.   
  
"Goliath-" Elisa felt warmth and delight permeate her being. The lavender leviathan decided to lay his mark upon her as kissed her fiercely and well. He suddenly lifted her so that her denim-clad bottom settled over his growing desire for her. Her luscious curves cradled him. There was no mistaking the deep groan that escaped from his throat. He turned her around and sat her upon the edge of the parapet. Hard chest against feminine bosom, granite abdomen against svelte athletic curves, masculine virility nestled adjacent to feminine essence.  
  
"Shhh....Love." He brought his fangs to a delicate pulse point on her neck and carefully nipped the pulsating point. Elisa's forgot all restraint as her fingers nestled within the long, thick sable mane. Her cries of delight excited him to the point of frenzy. "Elisa....I need you."  
  
"I know." She mewled.  
  
She almost knew at the precise moment when the civilized veneer gave way to the primal mating urge that he worked so diligently to control during this time of the month. She felt his talons dig sharply into the tender flesh of he bottom. His sharp canines bit harder and broke skin. She yelped in pain when she felt his teeth sink into her skin.  
  
It broke through the passionate haze that addled his mind. Goliath set her on her feet and tore himself away from their embrace. His closed fist came crashing down upon the granite of the stone parapet. A loud bellow of frustration shattered the urban hustle and bust of a Manhattan night. For a minute, the Big Apple seemed utterly silent.  
  
"Goliath...." Elisa laid a hand on his muscular lavender arm. "It's okay."  
  
"Okay is never enough...for either of us." He turned to face the woman before him. His eyes were hooded as he looked down at her. One large talon crooked under her chin and lifted her gaze to meet his. "You and I love one another. We agreed that species matters little, yet I could have injured just now had we continued. That isn't right, Elisa."  
  
"I'm a tough lady." She quipped with more bravado than she felt. "We've came this far, we'll figure away around this too."  
  
"I ...am not myself." He managed to say through gritted teeth. His eyes gleamed with the fires of raging desire. "While you are in the midst of your menses, I can not guarantee that I can contain the desires stirring within me. I'd rather die than hurt you, Elisa."  
  
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Goliath." Elisa refused to back away.  
  
"What do you mean?" He said warily. "Has the beast within me frightened you too much?"  
  
"There is no 'beast' inside you anymore than there's a 'monkey' running inside of me. We are what we are and we aren't either of those things." Elisa's frustration prompted her to wrap her arms around his waist. She lovingly rested her cheek against the broad width of his back. "Have you ever heard of Skylaris?"  
  
"Skylaris?" His voice shot up an octave and his brow ridge almost flew off his face. "Where did you hear that name?"  
  
"You know who she is?" She pressed on with her questions.  
  
"Aye, though I haven't heard the name since I was a hatchling." Goliath admitted. "She was a fading legend by the time I was hatched into the clan. It is the ancient name of the deity that created Gargoyles."  
  
"Does she exist?"  
  
"I only know her to be legend." Goliath found the strength to again face his ladylove. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"I had a dream last night, Big Guy. She was in it and she offered me a chance to be with you ... with you as a human."  
  
"How do you know that it isn't Puck playing one of his tricks?"  
  
"Puck can't do anything unless he's instructing Alexander." Elisa reminded her lavender lover. "She was pretty convincing."  
  
"I am not so certain." His eyes narrowed with wariness. "Did she give you proof?"  
  
"What constitutes proof?" Elisa asked.  
  
"What did she say?"  
  
"I don't remember everything, Goliath. But, she showed me a vision of you taking off my shoes and turning off my television. You covered me with a blanket. I heard your thoughts as if they were my own. Goliath, I thought I was the only one with a raging case of the uncontrollable hormones." Elisa's hid her face in his chest.  
  
"No, Love." She looked up to see two plum stains adorning Goliath's cheeks. "You and I both. What was her offer?"  
  
"Thirty days with you as a human." She told him truthfully. "It would be a different world."  
  
Silence fell between them as the shadows silhouetted the Gargoyle's face from her view.  
  
"Is that something you want?" He finally spoke. "Would you like it if I were Human?"  
  
"I love you just as you are." Elisa rushed to reassure him. "But, the thought...well, I hate to say it! It sounded tempting."  
  
"What would we have to do to make this wish come true?"  
  
"Goliath, c'mon!" Elisa cried in shock. "You can't seriously be considering-"  
  
"It is something that I am very much considering." He pressed a loving kiss to her brow. He closed his eyes to block out the visions of loving Elisa in full Gargoyle fashion. "I will not risk hurting you."  
  
"You've never hurt me yet, Big Guy and you wouldn't if we made love." Elisa dared to say what remained unspoken. "It's not like we couldn't figure out ways around....obstacles."  
  
"If I were human, would you still want me?" He asked in a whisper. "If you did, would you prefer that form?"  
  
"No! I fell for you, Goliath the Gargoyle."  
  
"Would it be so bad to try it for a time?" Onyx eyes searched her soul. "Can we continue on like this....always together yet forever apart."  
  
"It's a sacrifice I'm not sure I can make anymore." Elisa admitted to the lavender giant before you. She rested her head again against his chest. "Goliath, I want you as much as I love you."  
  
"It burns me alive with it's fervor." He whispered. "I become lost when I with you."  
  
"Ditto, Big Guy."  
  
"What must we do?" He brushed a stray tendril from her face.  
  
"She said look for her in the stars." Elisa's gaze moved to the skies above them. "I can't see the stars from here."  
  
Goliath deftly swept his Cherished love into his powerful arms. "Then, we shall go to a place where we can see each star in all its glory."  
  
His wings unfurled to their sixteen-foot span. He looked down with love shining brightly in his eyes. "I know just the place."  
  
The large Gargoyle dove from the parapets over the sea of neon. He let the warm currents of wind catch his wings as they rode breeze. Elisa's head rested against his powerful chest. She heard the solid rhythm beat hard and faster inside his chest. His eyes kept their focus straight ahead as they made their way past the skyline. For the next hour, they flew past the glowing lights of the City. They spoke in hushed tones of their hopes and dreams.   
  
Elisa felt a flood rage in her nether regions. Goliath caught her wild scent and recited passages from Othello to keep his mind sane. He finally landed in a small clearing several miles upstate in a small town known as Salem Center, New York. In the secluded glen of the city park, they stared at the stars in their entire brilliant splendor.  
  
"It is said that Skylaris once resided on Avalon and guarded the great Rowan tree. When Oberon stole the throne from his mother, all the Kiari fae were cast out from their home. Mab found new power amongst the humans. Skylaris chose the Gargoyles to be the foundation of her faith. Their youngest sister is legend. She became the lady of the lake." Goliath pointed to the darkened tapestry of the heavens. "There She is."  
  
Elisa followed the direction of Goliath's pointed talon. Elisa languidly traced the pattern of the sky. "We always called it Draco."  
  
"An apt, if not bland, description of the Goddess' splendor." He mused. "It is said that she made her home in the heavens. It is a part of our tradition that we are not of this world but that one star."  
  
Goliath singled out a bright star within the center of the constellation. "There, that star is called Thubin. It is said that is our home and not this place. Legend says that when a wish is made upon the tears of Skylaris, she grants them without reserve."  
  
"Tears of Skylaris?" Elisa truly was perplexed.   
  
"Falling stars, Love." Goliath nuzzled the side of her neck. His arms drew her to him so that her back rested against his broad chest. His wings protected her from the cooling breezes of late night. "They're actually meteor showers called Omicron Draconids."  
  
"When did you become such an expert in astronomy?" Elisa marveled at Goliath's depth of knowledge.  
  
"Xanatos have an extensive library." His scent hinted of leather, musk, and fresh Scottish Heather. Somehow, it the floral scent Elisa detected only added to his perfect masculine carriage. She knew that he was an avid reader.  
  
"Figures."  
  
A stream of crimson tail with bright points streaked across the late night sky. They glanced anxiously at each other. His tail found her waist and he held her tightly too him. She heard his breath quicken. "Now, Elisa! Make your wish. Let it come true."  
  
She met his eyes and knew that this was what she wanted. She loved him as a Gargoyle but her fears and his reservations needed circumvention. Perhaps, this was the opportunity they needed. Elisa whispered three words that Goliath strained to hear. "Let's do it."  
  
She cast her eyes toward the heavens on the glorious display of starlight and fire. She drew strength from Goliath's reassuring presence. She focused her eyes on the most brilliant luminosity of the meteor swarm. The words of the old childhood rhyme echoed inside her mind. Then, the came in a hushed tone from her lips.  
  
"Starlight, star bright  
First Star I see tonight.  
I wish I may, I wish I might  
I wish upon this star tonight.  
I wish.....  
I wish that Skylaris would grant me what she promised...thirty days of love with Goliath as a human."  
  
The breeze stilled. The world became silent. Each comet of Omicron Draconids rained to earth as the lost halos of fallen angels. Light extinguished and darkness overran the duo standing in the city park. Elisa felt no fear, no anxiety in the endless darkness. She felt only the strong presence of Goliath behind her, above her and through her being.  
  
The breeze became warm. The chirping of crickets filled her ears. The darkness ebbed and the lampposts bathed her and her lover in dim golden light. The autumn breeze chilled he through her jacket. She knew that it had been a wild daydream to think a dream could bring a wish come true. She turned to look at Goliath.  
  
Goliath wasn't there. Elisa found herself in the arms of a strapping man with sable hair to his waist and handsomely chiseled features. There were no wings. There was no tail. No talons caressed her soft skin. Lavender no longer existed. Deep bronze greeted her eyes.  
  
"Goliath?"  
  
"No, Love." Came the same sweet, sensual baritone that always seduced Elisa into compliance. "Gregory."  
  
"WHO???"  
  
"Goliath is ...elsewhere. I'm Gregory."  
  
"Jalepenia!" The air rushed from her lungs at the drastic change of the person before her.   
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
WHAT DO YOU THINK? DO I CONTINUE THIS SAGA? PLEASE WRITE AND LET ME KNOW.....  



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